Stamping machine



June 25, 1963 Filed March 10, 1958 H. A. MINTZ STAMPING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOI? I HENEY A- M/ MM 5% ATTiQ E'Y June 25, 1963 H. A. MINTZ STAMPING MACHINE Filed March 10, 1958 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 IHHHHIHHHH O w i a 3 as 50 as u u P-Y L INVENTOR.

HENRY A. M/NTZ June 25, 1963 Filed March 10, 1958 H. A. MlNTZ STAMPING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. HENRY A. M/NTZ Mia June 25, 1963 Filed March 10, 1958 H. A. MINTZ STAMPING MACHINE '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Y INVENTOR. HEN/2y A. M/NTZ J1me 1963 H. A. MINTZ 3,094,926

STAMPING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed March 10, 1958 INVENTOFQ L/E/vQv A M/NTZ ATTOFZNEY 3,094,926 STAMPING MACHINE Henry A. Mintz, 86 Bond St., Norwo'od, Mass. Filed Mar. 10, 1958, Ser. No. 720,169 2 Claims. (Cl. 101-318) This invention relates to a stamping machine, such as is used for branding gold or other metallic or pigment letters into the surface of articles made of leather or other material and which is adapted to utilize dies, type slugs, such as are made by Linotype machines in addition to the usual movable hand set type. It constitutes an improvement over the machine as described and claimed in my previous Patent 2,604,387 for Automatic Foil-Feed Mechanism for Stamping Machines issued July 22, 1952.

The present invention consists of a novel form of type box adapted to receive a plurality of special hollow type sticks in each of which a Linotype slug may be mounted. This box is supported in .a vertically movable head supported from a novel cantilever structure enabling the machine to be made in a variety of sizes from the same main elements. It also incorporates a novel foil tension ing structure, type box clamp and foil feeding mecha nism. These and other novel features of this invention will be best understood from the following description of an exemplification thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is ,a side elevation of one form of the novel machine;

'FIG. 2 is a top view of the machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-section taken along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a back view of the machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a front view of said machine;

FIG. 6 is a partial section along line 66 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a partial section along line 77 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the novel type box; and

-FIG. 9 is a perspective view of one of the novel type sticks. V

The machine illustrated includes a sub-base 1 upon which is securely fastened a base 2. A pair of heavy posts 3 and 4 are set into one end of base 2 and secured therein by suitable means such as pins *5 extending through the base 2 into the lower ends of said posts. A heavy bridge 6 made of a T-shaped casting is supported by the upper ends of the posts 3. The bridge 6 is locked to the posts 3 and 4 by pins 7. The bridge 6 is T shaped, the leg of the T being designated as 8 and the cross bar as 9.

A shaft 10 is rotatably mounted in the leg 8, the outer end of which is made hollow to provide a chamber 11 in order to provide space for a pinion 12 which is mounted on the shaft 10 and engages a rack 13 formed on one side of a bar 14 which is adapted to be reciprocated in a vertical direction by means of the pinion 12. The bar 14 is held in position and the rack 13 is held in engagement with the pinion 12 by means of a plate 15 secured at the outer end of leg 8 by means of screws 16. Fastened at one end of the shaft 10 by means of a wing bolt 17 is an arm 18 carrying a handle 19 at its outer end whereby the shaft 10 may be manually rotated.

The lower end of the bar 14'is secured to and carries a pallet 20. This pallet consists of a metal block which is cut away at its forward end to provide an overhanging wall 21 and a front wall 22 which form an angular recess which receives the type box 23, the details of which will bedescribed below. A casing 24 containing an electrical heating element, not shown, is secured to the pallet 20. The heating element may be supplied with electric current by means of a cable 25 and the degree of heat-ing of the heatingelement may be controlled by any well known type United States Patent 0 F of control contained within the casing 4 and regulated y 3,094,926 Patented June 25, 1963 'ice a control knob 26 exteriorly of said casing. A pair of springs 27, each fastened at one end to the upper side of the pallet 20 and at the other end to a side of the leg 8 assist in counteracting the weight of the structure carried by the bar 14 and thus facilitate the raising and lowering of said structure by the movement of the handle 19.

The type box 23, shown most clearly in FIG. 8, consists of an angle having an upper Wall 28 and a back wall 29. One end of the angle is closed by a block 30, thus forming a three-sided hollow box. A pair of pins 31 extend from said rear wall 29 and a handle 32 is fastened to the outer side of block 30. A positioning stud 33 is fastened to the top of the wall 28.

The type box 23 is adapted to receive a plurality of type sticks 34, one of which is shown most clearly in FIG. 9. Each type stick consists of a thick metal plate 35 hollowed out to provide a recess 36 in which a type slug 37 is adapted to be received. The slug 37 is clamped into position by a bar 38 which is moved. toward the slug 37 by a screw 39 threaded through one end ofthe plate 35. The bar 38 carries a pair of pins 40 which slide through openings in the end of plate 35 to guide the bar 38 in its motion and to retain it in the stick 34. One or more spacers 41 may be interposed at either end of slug 37 in order to locate it at any desired position along the stick 34. The plate 35 is provided with two holes 42 so that when the slug 37 is locked in place by the bar 38, the stick 34 may be inserted into the box 23 -by the pins 31 passing through said holes 42. As shown most clearly in FIG. 3, a plurality of type sticks may be inserted in this manner in the type box. If desired, spacers consisting of flat plates having holes to receive the pins 31 may be used between the type sticks in order to produce the proper spacing between them.

The type sticks 34 may be made in a varietyof thicknesses to receive type of various sizes. 'For example, the sticks 34 may be made in sizes to receive'twelve, fourteen, eighteen, twenty-four, thirty or thirty-six point type slugs.

When the sticks 34 and the spacers, if any, have been assembled in the type box 23, the box is secured in the pallet 20 by the following structure. A fiat bar 43 is secured to the pallet 20 adjacent the lower end of the front wall 22 so that the lower surface of the bar 43 is located from the wall 23 by a distance equal to the height of the type box 23. Aflat plate 44 is secured to the lower face of the bar 43 and projects forward a short distance to provide a ledge against which the back wall 29 of the box 23 may be supported. The box 23 carrying its type sticks is inserted into the pallet 20 from the right as shown in FIG. 5 and is slid along with the back wall 29 engaging the plate 44 (see FIG. 3) until the stud 33 touches the right side wall of the pallet. It will be noted thatthe stud 33 is provided with an overhanging head 45 which slides over the top of the overhanging wall 21 and thus accurately locates the box 23 in position in the pallet. The box 23 may then be clamped into position by a clamping bar 46.

The clamping bar 46 is mounted on the lower end of a bell crank arm 47 which is carried by a pivot pin 48, the ends of which are rotatably mounted in blocks 49 and 50 formed at the forward edge of wall 21 (see FIG. 5). A spring 51, retained in place in block 50 by a screw 52, engages the back side of bell crank arm 47 and biases the clamping 'bar 46 outwardly to enable the box 23 to be inserted without interference. The upper end of bell crank arm 47 has a bolt 53 threaded through it. The bolt 53 is provided with a knob 54 so that it may be screwed into the arm 47 causing the inner end of the bolt 53 to engage the forward face of the !bar 14 thus rotating the upper end of arm 47 outwardly. This forces the clampingbar 46 into clamping engagement with the side of the outermost type stick 3:4. .Inlthis .way,.all of .theltype...sticks areclampedtogether and the type box 23 is clamped firmly in place with its back wall 29 in engagement with the front wall l 22't'of'the pallet :20. Reaction .of the'plate 44,'stud i3 3rarrd clampingibar T46 causes-the :box.23 to be accurately positioned -iI1/itS' predetermined location with respect -to the machine.

Asindicated in-mypriorPatent 2,604,3'87, when the type-has been heated to operating temperature .by the heating element incasing 24, the stamping is accomplishedby pressing the-type' faces-against the article to be stamped through a printing foil which causes -a metallicor-otherzcoating on'the foilto betransferred to said article. "Such-a foil 55 is supplied in the present =machine'from a-spool 56 supported in aframe 57. The frame 57 is carried by a plate'5 8-which in turn'is carried byza-block"59 fastenedto 'the upper-endof bar 14. Screws-60 may be use'd to secure the plate 58 to the "block 59.

The frame 57 is formed with two sidearms 61 and 62 which are 'adapted to receive-a rod 63 having oneend threaded'into aoorresponding threaded opening in arm '62. The other end 'of-rod 63=has a head-64 whereby said rod-'may' bethreadedintoposition. The rod 63 is ad-apted to pass through and support spool'56 carrying "the foil 55. The IOd 63' ismaderemovable so that any desired printing'foil maybe placedin the machine. In order to-exertatension*on-the foil 55 during operation, -a'friction -brake arm 65 is'riveted to the arm 62 so that its outer-end bears againstan endplate'66-of the spool "56. "Thedegree of pressure between the brake arm 65 andthe plate 66 may "beregulated' bya screw 67 threaded through'arm -62. A'spring-68 interposed between the 'head"69 of-screw'67-and arm*62 tends'toprevent screw 67'fromturningmnless manipulated by the'operator.

'It'is often necessary to align'the axis of spool 56 to beat right angles to the direction of pullof the foil 55 in order to insure smooth anduniform motion of'the fo'il. "For this purpo'se, the "firame 57'is secured to the plateT58lby a rivet70 1(see'FIGf2) about which the 'frame may pivot. A pin71 is secured to the frame "57 to one side of the rivet 70 and passes through an enlarged openingjtnot shown) in plate "58. Thefree end of 'a-springf72 biases the pin 7lvupwar'dly. "The spring .72 iswoundaon ,apin73 fastened to plate 58 and'its .other end. isretainedlbehindanother pin 74. A screw :75 .threade'dithrough. a.block"76t-carried by the plate 58 forces-the. frame 57 down. against .'-the bias of spring 72 .to produce the desired alignment. .A spring 77 is placed .between the headnofscrew 75 and the block 76 to hold screw 75 in itsadjusted position.

Thesfoil :5- 5 as itcomesfrom the spool 56 passes .over-.-a-lip-78 formed -at the outer and cream flexible .plate 79 riveted to the plate 58. The.plate 79 acts as aspring to takeup slaok in the foilzandmaintain the proper'tensionon; it. .After the foil 55 leaves the lip 78,.it passes over around; bara80 formed a part of a bail 1 81, the sidearms of-which are bent into holesin a frame 82 so that the bail 81 swings freely causing its *wei ght tobe exerted through the bar 80 onto the foil"55. In other-words,-the bar 80irests' upon the foil 55 in the position shown in'FIG. 1. A pair of hard rubberrollers 83- are slidably'mounted onthe bar .80. These rollers 'areispaced apart a distance to accommodate the width of-the foil 55 and also'serve an additionalpurpose to be described below.

After the foil SS-passes over the rod '80, it. extends below the type faces secured. in-Jthe pallet '20 and is rereivedbetween a pair of corrugated rollers 84 and 85 which when turned pul'l the. foil through the machine to produce the proper feeding action. The rollers 84 and .85 are mounted on-pins86 and' 87respectively which .pins are rotatablymounted in the side walls of a frame "88- which are bolted to the side walls of frame 82. The

front end of frame82 is -fastened to the lower end of bar 14 as by a screw 89 (see FIG. 3). In addition, a pair of arms 90 and 91 are carried at their upper ends by a rod 92 which passes through the upper end of bar 14. The ends of the rod 92 are threaded and pass through holes in the upper ends of the arms 90 and 9 1. Nuts93 and 94 threaded onto the ends of rod 92 clamp the arms 90 and 91 in place. A bar 95 passes through holes in the sides of frame 82 and through .holesinthe lower ends of the:arms 90 and 91. The .ends of the bar 95-are threaded and nuts '96 and97 are threaded onto these ends to clamp the arms 90 and 91 and thesides of frame-82 together. As shown in FIGS.

.2 and '3, spacer sleeves '98 may be carried by the bar 95 to maintain the proper spacing (between the members carriedlbysaid bar. 'Due to the above structure, the bar 80 and the frame 88v carrying the rollers 84 and .85 move as a unit up and downwith the motion of the bar 14 carrying thepallet '20 andthe spool 56.

'For proper operation it is'necessary to advance the foil 55 through the machine'by a predetermined adjustableamount for each printing operation. In order to do this, automatic means areprovided to rotate the roll- .ers 84 and 85 by the .desired amount at the correct time. For this purpose pin '87 is extended beyond the outer side of frame '88 and carries a ratchet plate99. The ratchet plate isnormally held inv position by a spring .detent. plate 100 riveted-to the back of frame '88. This prevents a clockwise rotation of roller 85 as viewed in FIG. 3 and thus prevents a'retrograde motion of the .foil 55. The feeding motion of roller 85 is-produced by the engagement of the ratchet plate 99 with a pawl plate 101. The pawl plate 101 forms-one side of a fork 102, the other side of which is formed by a plate 103 whose upper end is bent over and is bolted to the upper end of pawl plate 101 by means of a'bolt 104. The pawl plate 101, however, can swing on the bolt 104 and is biased into engagement with the ratchet plate 99 by means of a flat spring 105 secured to the back of the .cross bar 9 by screws '106.

'fork 102, and thusthepawl plate 101, may beheld at any desiredheight'by means of a screw clamping member 111 which passes through anelongated slot 112 in plate '103 and has its innerend screw threaded into the block 107. 'Ihemember' 111 carries a washer'113 which en- 'gages the outer surface of plate'103 to clamp it in place against the block 107. The member 111 is provided with a knob 114 to enable the operator to loosen and tighten the-member 111.

When the handle 19 moves the bar 1.4 upward the "frame 82 and frame 88- are likewise moved upward. During this motion, the ratchet plate 99 engages the pawl plate 101 and is rotated thus pulling the foil 55 through the machine. It will be seen that thefork 102 can be raised to such a height that theratchet plate 99 is below the point at which the teeth on pawl plate101 stop when the stamping me'chanismis inits lowermost or printing position. It will also'be noted that the amount of rotation imparted to theratchetplate 99 will depend upon the point at which it 'first comesinto engagement with the teeth on pawl plate 101. The higher the fork 102 is adjusted the smaller will be the rotation of the ratchet plate 99. Therefore, the operator can adjust the amount by which the foil 55. is fed during each printing operation by the adjustment of the. height of the fork 102.

The pin 87 is provided with a knob 115 whereby independent manual feeding of the foil can be effectuated,

as during the initial setting up of the machine.

In order to support the articles to be stamped, a supporting plate member 116 may be secured to base 2 by pins 117 fastened to base 2 and projecting into holes in the plate 116 and by a clamping screw 118 threaded through a block 119 fastened at the back end of plate 116. Clamp screw 118i engages the back of base 2 and thus clamps the plate 116 firmly in place.

The operation of the machine is as follows. The operator sets up the desired type composition in the type box 23 which is then fastened into the pallet 20. The foil 55 is threaded over the bar 80 and between the rollers 84 and 85 and the slack taken up by rotating the knob 115. It will be noted that, at this stage, the weight of the bail 81 holds the foil 55 away from the face of the type. The operator then turns on the heating current "and sets the control knob 26 to the proper degree of heat. The article to be stamped is placed in its proper position on the plate 116 and may be clamped in position by any suitable clamping devices. When the type has been heated to the proper operating temperature, the operator actuates the handle 19 to lower the bar 14. As the mechanism approaches its printing position, the rollers 83 first engage the surface 'of the plate 116 and roll forward along that surface. The spring action of plate 79 causes the foil to follow this motion and as a result the foil rises and engages the heated type faces immediately prior to the point at which the article to be stamped is engaged. The operator then exerts the necessary stamping pressure through the handle 19 and the heated type faces transfer the metallic coating on the foil to the article. The operator then rotates the arm 18 to raise the bar 14. Thereupon, the bar 80 carries the foil 55 away from the type faces and thereafter the feeding mechanism draws a fresh portion of the foil beneath the type faces.

From the above, it will be seen that the foil is moved only during the upward stroke of the printing mechanism and is always held away from the type faces except during the actual transfer of the metallic coating to the article to be stamped. As a result the printing which results is extremely clear and fine.

Of course, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular details described above and that many equivalents will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. It is accordingly desired that the appended claims be given a broad interpretation commensurate with the scope of the invention within the art.

What is claimed is:

1. A stamping machine comprising a base having a supporting surface adapted to support a member to be stamped, a cantilever supporting structure secured to said base, a bar reciprocatingly mounted in the outer end of said cantilever supporting structure in a position to move substantially perpendicularly to said supporting surface,

means carried by the lower end of said bar for supporting stamping type, means for manually reciprocating said bar, a spool adapted to contain a supply of foil, said spool being supported by said bar, said foil extending from said spool, across the face of said type and being received in, means carried by said bar for feeding said foil across the face of said type, a member resting upon said foil and urging said foil away from the face of said type, bias means tending to pull said foil into engagement with said type face, means for lifting said member in a direction to relieve said foil of the weight of said member as said type approaches its stamping position whereby said bias means pulls said foil into engagement with said type face immediately prior to said type reaching its stamping position.

2. A stamping machine comprising a base having a supporting surface adapted to support a member to be stamped, a supporting structure secured to said base, a bar reciprocatingly mounted in said supporting structure in a position to move substantially perpendicularly to said supporting surface, means carried by the lower end of said bar for supporting stamping type, means for reciprocating said bar, means carried by said bar for supporting an elongated strip of printing foil, which foil is to be moved over the face of said type, means carried by said bar for feeding said foil across the face of said type comprising a set of meshing corrugated rollers carried by said bar and between which said foil is received, a circular ratchet plate secured to one of said rollers for causing said roller to rotate and feed said foil, an elongated pawl plate secured to said supporting structure, said elongated plate having a series of teeth disposed along one side thereof and adapted to engage and rotate said ratchet plate during only a portion of the motion of said bar away from said supporting surface, and means for adjusting said plate along said supporting structure to adjust the extent of such portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 358,791 Seybold Mar. 1, 1887 748,715 Folger Jan. 5, 1904 1,572,494 Krause Feb. 9, 1926 1,714,795 Luedtke et al May 28, 1929 1,909,844 Brenner May 16, 1933 1,987,370 Pleger Jan. 8, 1935 2,047,373 Kingsley July 14, 1936 2,123,377 Papp et al July 12, 1938 2,477,440 Cohen et a1 July 26, 1949 2,621,435 Weber Dec. 16, 1952 2,960,024 Kingsley Nov. 15, 1960 

1. A STAMPING MACHINE COMPRISING A BASE HAVING A SUPPORTING SURFACE ADAPTED TO SUPPORT A MEMBER TO BE STAMPED, A CANTILEVER SUPPORTING STRUCTURE SECURED TO SAID BASE, A BAR RECIPROCATINGLY MOUNTED IN THE OUTER END OF SAID CANTILEVER SUPPORTING STRUCTURE IN A POSITION TO MOVE SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULARLY TO SAID SUPPORTING SURFACE, MEANS CARRIED BY THE LOWER END OF SAID BAR FOR SUPPORTING STAMPING TYPE, MEANS FOR MANUALLY RECIPROCATING SAID BAR, A SPOOL ADAPTED TO CONTAIN A SUPPLY OF FOIL, SAID SPOOL BEING SUPPORTED BY SAID BAR, SAID FOIL EXTENDING FROM SAID SPOOL, ACROSS THE FACE OF SAID TYPE AND BEING RECEIVED IN, MEANS CARRIED BY SAID BAR FOR FEEDING SAID FOIL ACROSS THE FACE OF SAID TYPE, A MEMBER RESTING UPON SAID FOIL AND URGING SAID FOIL AWAY FROM THE FACE OF SAID TYPE, BIAS MEANS TENDING TO PULL SAID FOIL INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID TYPE FACE, MEANS FOR LIFTING SAID MEMBER IN A DIRECTION TO RELIEVE SAID FOIL OF THE WEIGHT OF SAID MEMBER AS SAID TYPE APPROACHES ITS STAMPING POSITION WHEREBY SAID BIAS MEANS PULLS SAID FOIL INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID TYPE FACE IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO SAID TYPE REACHING ITS STAMPING POSITION. 